Park Pavilions

In 2002, there were 107 pavilions distributed throughout Dallas’s 365 parks. The inventory included historic pavilions from the 1920s and 1930s, the prototypical concrete “T” beam pavilions built during the 1960s, and site-adapted catalog pavilions.

The Dallas Park and Recreation Department completed a long-range strategic plan—A Renaissance Plan—in 2002, followed by the successful passage of a bond referendum in 2003 that provided the largest single amount for park capital development in the city’s history – over $100 million. This bond program also included a generous allocation for 23 replacement or new picnic pavilions throughout the city. Each of these was assigned to an architect with a record of design excellence, who was given a straightforward program: the pavilion should be durable and easy to maintain; it should be contextual within the surrounding community and embraced by the neighborhood; it should be functional; and most importantly, it should be safe. The replacement program was so successful that another nine pavilions were included in the 2006 bond referendum.